


The War Is Over

by Steggy4evr



Category: Agent Carter - Fandom, Captain America, Peggy Carter - Fandom, Steve Rogers - Fandom, steggy - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 09:22:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8885479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steggy4evr/pseuds/Steggy4evr
Summary: Howard finds Steve alive and surprises Peggy at a party celebrating the end of the war.





	1. Chapter 1

The party appeared to be winding down, and for that she was grateful. She just didn't think she could endure another hour of pretending to celebrate. Yes, she was glad the war was over. But she had lost...everything. It was difficult to be happy, when the one person who had done so much to bring about the end of the war wasn't here where he belonged.  
She looked about the ballroom, wondering if she could just sneak away. She didn't want conversation, she didn't want anyone trying to convince her to stay. She was very surprised that she hadn't seen Howard here at all tonight. He normally didn't miss a party, especially one filled with beautiful women so eager to reward all the men who had helped in the war effort, whether in uniform or not. But at least he wasn't bugging her and trying to cheer her up, as he had been all last week. He recognized her loss, but he hated to see her unhappy, and so he constantly tried to make her laugh. So far all he'd gotten for his pains was some weak smiles and a lot of cross words flung at his head.

Colonel Phillips was drinking with a lot of other high ranking officers, he wouldn't notice if Peggy wasn't there anymore. Nonchalantly, she started walking towards the stairs.

"Peggy!" Dugan had spotted her. He and the rest of the Howling Commandos surrounded her. They had noticed the sadness behind her smile all night. No one had to ask what it was about.

"We miss him, too." Dugan said quietly, so that others around them couldn't hear. "We brought you a shot, to drink to the Captain with us." He handed her a shot glass of brandy, which she took thankfully. One drink, then, with her closest friends, in honor of the man she had loved and lost, and then she would excuse herself to bed.

They all raised their drinks in the air.

"To Captain America, a great man." Said Dugan respectfully. Each Commando repeated the toast, then waited for Peggy.

"To my Darling, Steve. You should be here tonight." she said softly. They each downed their shots.

"Peg, come sit with us. You shouldn't be alone." Morita said.

They all saw her straighten her spine and lift her chin a notch. Their respect for her rose even higher as she steeled herself and said firmly, "Thank you, no. I really must be getting to bed, I've an early morning ahead of me." They always had admired her head-on way of handling things.

Dugan faced her and put one hand on her shoulder. Then he leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek. "From Cap," he said, and he made his way back to the bar. One by one, the rest of the commandos also kissed her cheek, each time saying "From Cap," before following Dugan.

Her eyes were wet with tears by the time they had finished, and she thought how lucky she was to have such wonderful friends. Mentally shaking herself, she put her empty glass on a table and headed to the hotel stairs to go up to her room. She got about halfway across the room when she heard a commotion by the front door of the ballroom. There were shouts that at first startled her, and she automatically moved her hand towards the small gun that was in her clutch, but the shouts were quickly followed by cheers. Grateful for the distraction, she quickly finished crossing the room and walked upstairs. As she turned the corner at the top of the staircase, she heard Colonel Phillips say loudly, "Where's Agent Carter? She'll want to be here for this!". She didn't even pause. There was nothing she wanted to see. No one she wanted to talk to. She just wanted to get to the privacy of her room and cry herself to sleep again.


	2. Chapter 2

Once in her room, Peggy put her clutch on the chair next to the wall. She walked into the bathroom and got a glass of water. She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Peggy thought she had done a pretty decent job of acting ever since Steve's plane went down, but if she was honest, those who knew her well would notice the circles under her eyes, the tightness in her mouth as she forced herself to for-God's-sake hold it together, her paleness; but most noticeable were her eyes. They had a haunted look to them, which she supposed would probably be there for a long time to come. She just kept reliving her final conversation with Steve. She knew it was futile. She knew it only hurt her. But she couldn't stop replaying it, hearing his brave attempt at making their final conversation seem normal, as if he was just out on an errand and would be back in time for their date that Saturday night.

Goddammit! WHY didn't he at least give her his coordinates? It would have been something anyway. It would have given them a fighting chance of finding him. Instead, she was left with memories, memories that she knew she would cherish for the rest of her life. Realistically, she knew she could, and probably would, love again. But deep in her heart of hearts, she also knew that it would be a shadow of love. Steve had been her one true love.

Steve had earned her love long before he became Captain America. She loved his honesty, his integrity, his intelligence. He was one of the few men who had treated her with respect even though she was "just a woman" in a man's world. When he talked to her, he looked in her eyes, not at her breasts. He didn't think she was only good for getting coffee and sandwiches, for being just a pretty face to keep the men happy. He respected her, not because of her uniform, but because she shared the same traits that she found attractive in him.

She knew he respected her, and at least liked her a great deal. She didn't know if he loved her, they hadn't been able to get that far in their relationship. It was hard to have any sort of relationship in the middle of a war, but especially when you wanted it kept secret. Peggy had no intention of being known just as "Captain America's girlfriend". The chemistry between them had been undeniable; the long looks across the tables at meetings, the way they fought the enemy together as if they were one person, each one looking out for the other, and, most noticeably, for Peggy at least, the way he refused to touch her or look directly at her whether they were alone or not. Any time they stood near each other, he was tense. He stammered if she spoke directly to him, he blushed, and he looked at his shoes an awful lot. Peggy was no novice to crushes, and he had all the symptoms of having a major crush on her. But she was sure it was more than that.

His natural shyness kept him from doing anything about it. She was certain of that. He had spent most of his life being the underdog. No girl gave him a second look. He had no confidence with women at all. Even after he became Captain America and girls practically threw themselves at him, he still felt like that skinny, sickly kid who was always kicked when he was down.

Peggy thought of the kiss she had finally given him just before he hijacked Red Skull's plane. She remembered hearing his shocked gasp as her lips closed on his, remembered feeling the urgency when he enthusiastically returned the kiss, the look of stunned wonder on his face as the kiss ended. And she remembered the hope she felt as he got on the plane, the hope that now their relationship might go forward. She had been sick of keeping her feelings to herself and not acting on them. She had looked forward to finding out how Steve felt about her; she was quite positive she knew the answer. And she had dared to dream.

The tears were now streaming down her face as she thought of all this. She missed Steve so damn much! He had become such an integral part of her life. How could she be expected to go on alone, in a world without him?


	3. Chapter 3

Peggy carefully blotted the tears from her face. Although, really, why even bother? If the last few months had been any indication, she would just be crying silently into her pillow for half the night anyway.

A loud pounding at her room door made Peggy jump.

"Peggy! Peggy, open up, it's important!" Howard Stark was shouting through her door.

Peggy stormed out of the bathroom, to the door, and yanked it open furiously.

"For God's sake, Howard, this had better be a matter of life or de..." Peggy trailed off as she saw who was standing there.

"Steve." she whispered, "No, it can't - what are y - how di - " Peggy couldn't breathe, she was confused and shocked and felt as if she were about to faint. Steve stood there, in his military uniform, just looking into her eyes. Vaguely, Peggy could see Howard behind Steve, looking pleased as punch with himself. There were still a lot of partiers in the hotel hallway, many of whom called out to Steve as they passed on their way to their rooms.

"Good to have you back, Captain!"

"Hey, Captain America, great job winning the war!"

"Rogers, come join the party!"

But Steve ignored them as thoroughly as Peggy was ignoring Howard.

"Peggy." He said simply. And then he was pulling her into his arms and hugging her and she was crying now, tears of happiness instead of sorrow, and he was soothing her, whispering in her ear, "Don't cry, I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry I left you alone, I swear I'll never leave you again. Don't cry, Peggy."

"So, Peggy, does this count as a matter of life or death?" joked Howard.

Peggy pulled her face away from Steve's chest and pretended to glare at Howard.

"I suppose I'll forgive you for disturbing me THIS time." she said. Howard smirked at her, enjoying her obvious happiness.

Peggy reluctantly pulled away from Steve, but just long enough to grab his hand and drag him into her room.

"You two get in here and tell me all about it!" She demanded. They didn't hesitate. People usually didn't when Agent Carter barked orders.


	4. Chapter 4

Howard sat on one of the chairs in Peggy's hotel room. She and Steve sat on the edge of her bed, his arm tight around her, keeping her close to his side. A position she didn't object to in the least. Steve had never been this forward, this confident. But she wasn't complaining. She was still in shock, still sure this was just a dream that she was going to wake up from any minute now.

Howard started talking.

"Well, we got a signal last week about the second day of the search. It was faint, it was just one weak signal, and then it was gone. But it was something. My ship headed straight to it, we just kept searching and searching in the area. Then one of the crew spotted something in the ice. The plane was practically buried in the ice. Took a lot of machinery to get Cap out of the ice. He was frozen solid, and we were all convinced he was dead." Here Howard paused for a moment, and the look in his eyes was far away. He was seeing it again, the huge chuck of ice that had buried Steve Rogers. Howard had been sure no one, not even a super soldier, could have survived first the crash, and then being frozen solid.

Peggy hung on every word Howard spoke. She could almost see it herself, and she shuddered and pressed even closer to Steve. Steve dropped a kiss on her head and took her hand with his free hand. She gripped it tightly, thankful for the comfort.

"I thought he was dead, Peggy, but I had to get him home. To you. You - you deserved to say goodbye to him. I had to do it - I just had to." Howard stopped and put his hand over his eyes. Peggy and Steve looked on in surprise. Peggy had had no idea how strongly Howard had felt her grief. He had always been such a jokester, someone who couldn't seem to take anything seriously.

"Howard..." she started tentatively.

"No, it's ok, Peg. I'm ok. It's just, and if you ever tell anyone that I got this sappy, I'll deny it completely, it's just that you and Steve, you belong together. I've never, in my whole life, seen two people so obviously right for each other. All the guys I know screw around on their women, or think about it, and the women are always unhappy and they're also screwing around. You and Steve, you had eyes only for each other. Hell, Rogers wouldn't even look at another girl when you weren't around. I know, I tried to set him up with dames all the time at first. And how many guys did I watch you shoot down? Including me!" At Howard's words, Steve tensed slightly and looked kind of pissed. Howard smiled at him. "Don't worry, big guy, I know a losing battle when I see it. You two deserve an entire lifetime together. And when Steve's plane went down, well, that pissed me off. It wasn't fair. And I saw what it did to you." 

Now it was Steve's turn to squeeze her hand as he heard Howard go on to describe Peggy's suffering in the months following the crash. She looked up at him reassuringly, and was dismayed by the look of guilt on his face.

Howard continued, "Peggy, after the crash you were a shadow. A ghost. You looked and saw nothing. You didn't smile... at all. Oh, sure, you did your job, you were sharp and efficient and still put the fear of God into everyone. But there was no life left in you. You refused to socialize, you refused any help, you refused any condolences, even from those of us who loved you and Steve. You acted like nothing had changed, and, Peg, we knew. Everyone who knew you two, everyone who even saw you two together, knew. We saw what you were going through, and you insisted on going it alone. I had to get Steve back for you, Peggy. You two are, seriously, the two best people in my life right now. I had to help. I wanted to do something good for a change, something that wouldn't backfire on me, or hurt people I wanted to help. You two deserve it."

Peggy swallowed a painful lump in her throat. She hadn't been fair to Howard. She truly liked him, and enjoyed his company in small doses, but he always came across as so arrogant, and adolescent, and he always had a different girl for each night of the week it seemed. She had no idea there was so much depth to him.

"Howard, I can't thank you enough."

"Neither can I." said Steve. "I owe you big for this one. When I went down, I thought my life was over, and it killed me to think of leaving Peggy by herself. I'm glad she had friends like you and the Commandos." he said simply.

Peggy stood up and walked to Howard. She pulled him up from the chair and hugged him. He hugged her back tightly. 

"You know," he joked, "it's a good thing Captain America's here or I might just try to press my advantage!"

"Oh, you!" but she smiled as she smacked his arm.

"Seriously, guys, I have to run. There's a very charming lady downstairs anxiously awaiting my return. Steve, Peggy, I will be back in the morning to pick you both up for a press meeting scheduled for 9. Well, me and Colonel Phillips." Howard made a long-suffering face. " Should be fun."

Howard walked over to Steve and handed him a key. He said, "I didn't know how this would go with you and Peggy. I don't think you will, but if you need it, the room next to here is free." Peggy felt her face flush as Howard walked himself to the door and let himself out. "I'll be here at 8 am sharp!" he called as he shut the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve looked at Peggy. He still looked guilty.

"Peggy, I am so sorry," he started.

"No, Steve, of course you had to do what you felt was right. You wouldn't be you if you didn't. Believe me, I understand." 

He walked over to her and stood in front of her. "I meant it," he said. "I'm not leaving you again."

Suddenly, he looked embarrassed. He started turning red, and he stared down at his shoes and stuttered, "I mean, if you - if you don't want me to leave. I - I didn't mean to force..." She stopped him with a finger on his lips.

"Of course I never want you to leave me again!" she insisted. "Steve, I missed you terribly, and I don't ever want to imagine my life without you again."

Steve looked up and smiled at her. He looked much happier to hear her say that she still wanted him in her life. 

Abruptly, he looked at her seriously. He stepped closer to her and put his arms around her waist. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked up at him.

"Peggy, you were the very last thought I had as the plane went down, and the very first thought when I woke up. I didn't know how long I had been under the ice, and all I could think was 'I missed my date with Peggy'. I was so upset. When I got back here and off the ship, I wanted to come straight to you. But they wanted to keep me in the hospital for a few days, run some tests, make sure everything was ok. But I threw a fit, and Howard, he got me out of there before I could put someone through a wall."

He was looking at her earnestly, and his grip on her waist tightened a bit. "Howard took me straight to this party, and I walked in and my only thought was to find you, but of course I hadn't thought about everyone else recognizing me and fussing. I shoved my way through everyone, trying to find you. Then Dugan said he saw you go upstairs to your room. Somehow, Howard knew which room was yours and he got me up here to you." 

Steve leaned down, his face close to hers. Peggy's heart was racing, she had no idea just how far Steve was prepared to go, but she was intoxicated just having him this close to her. His hands were burning on her waist, his body mere inches from hers, and now his face was hovering just next to hers.

"Peggy," he breathed. "You're all I've ever wanted." 

And then his lips were on hers, gently; he kissed her, slowly and chastely at first, waiting for her response to clue him in as to what she wanted. Peggy's heart beat furiously, she clutched Steve's arms and returned his kiss, her lips trembling a bit as he pressed his against them. Steve didn't have much experience in kissing, but he instinctively deepened the kiss, letting his passion guide him. Peggy's hands moved up his arms and around the back of his neck and his arms circled her waist as he pulled her as close to him as he possibly could.

With their bodies pressed so close together, Peggy felt as if she were on fire. Steve's tongue pressed against her lips and she parted them slightly. "Oh, Peggy," Steve whispered against her mouth. He brought one hand up and tangled it in the back of her hair, pressing her lips even more firmly against his. She gasped slightly as his tongue delved into her mouth and hesitantly explored. She returned the kiss passionately, twisting his hair in her fingers.

Steve's lips travelled down her chin to her neck. He softly kissed the hollow of her neck, and she let out a soft moan. Steve's arms gripped her tighter to him for a split second, then he suddenly stopped kissing her and stepped back, looking at her with shame and panic all over his face, as he struggled to control his breathing.

"Steve, what is it, what's wrong?" Peggy asked, confused. She was panting, dizzy with desire, and all she wanted was to continue kissing Steve.

"I'm sorry, Peggy, I didn't mean to...to attack you in your room." He was turning red, embarrassed at how he had pawed at her. "You deserve so much, a real date, dinner and dancing. Not just some guy who shows up and starts - starts, ummm..."

Peggy smiled at him. 

"You're hardly "some guy", darling." she teased. He opened his mouth to protest further, but she held up her hand and he remained silent.

"Steve, you are not doing one single thing wrong. You are not taking advantage, nor are you forcing me. In case it escaped your notice, I want this every bit as much as you do. I feel we've definitely waited long enough. The better part of a war, in fact. That's long enough, as far as I'm concerned. Now, do you want to pick up where we were, or would you prefer to make use of that empty room Howard gave you a key to?"


	6. Chapter 6

Steve looked at her a moment longer, and Peggy returned his gaze with a calm she was far from feeling. She felt she would lose her mind if he chose to follow some misplaced chivalry and leave. Luckily, her talk seemed to allay his fears, for he stepped closer to her once again and put his hands back on her waist.

His eyes searched hers, and when she locked her arms around his neck once again, Steve finally let himself give in. This time when he kissed her, he was less restrained, his lips crushing hers with almost bruising strength. Peggy gasped, feeling passion flare up hotter than before. She pressed her body flush against his, feeling his hardness against her stomach. Steve let out a groan, and moved his hands to cup her ass, pulling her tighter against him. His lips left hers and he kissed along her neck, down to her collar bone, gently nipping at her skin. 

Peggy's hands went to his jacket buttons and began unfastening them. As she undid the last one, Steve shrugged out of it, letting it drop to the floor. He quickly loosened his tie and pulled that off as well, tossing it to join the jacket on the floor. Peggy's fingers were already nimbly releasing the buttons of his shirt, and Steve bent his head to kiss her once more. His hands found the zipper at the nape of her neck, and he hesitated only slightly before cautiously starting to pull the zipper down her back. When she didn't object, he quickly finished unzipping the dress, his hands trembling as his fingertips brushed against the bare skin of her back.

Peggy completed unbuttoning Steve's shirt and eagerly tugged it off him. He seemed reluctant to let go of her long enough to yank his arms out of his sleeves, and he hurriedly pulled off his t-shirt as well before putting his hands on her bare back again. Peggy allowed her hands to roam freely over Steve's chest, fulfilling a long-awaited fantasy of stroking his hard muscles to her heart's content. She had never been so aroused, so eager to please and be pleased. Steve was still running his hands over her back, slowly gaining the courage to expand his range of motion. After several moments, he was finally confident enough to reach up and pull the top of her dress down, exposing her brassiere to him. He stopped, swallowing thickly as he tentatively touched the silky material. Peggy moaned softly as his fingertips lightly brushed over her nipples. Impatiently, Peggy pulled her arms out of the dress sleeves, then reached behind her and unfastened the brassiere's hooks. As her dress dropped to the floor, quickly followed by the brassiere, Steve drew in a sharp breath.

"Fuck, Peggy." he hissed as he looked at her in just her garter belt, stockings, and panties. He reached for her desperately, his kisses now frantic with desire, his hands seeming to touch her everywhere at once. Between the two of them, Steve's pants were undone and discarded with the rest of their clothes.

Without warning, Steve scooped Peggy into his arms and carried her the few steps to the bed. And then, finally, they were both lying on the bed, nearly naked. They lay there, panting, flush with arousal, and Steve reached out and stroked Peggy's cheek. He leaned in and kissed her softly before pulling back again.

"Peggy," he said hoarsely. "I love you. So much."

"I know," Peggy replied. "And I love you, too." She pressed herself close to Steve and tilted her head up to kiss him. She reached down and stroked him through his underwear, enjoying the strangled noise he made in the back of his throat. His hands tightened at her waist as his hips bucked forward, and she groaned as his hardness bumped against her center. She continued to stroke his cock through his underwear, taking pleasure in the way his breath shortened and his hips jerked helplessly.

Steve's hands slid down her legs, pausing to run his fingers over the area where her skin gave way to stockings. He seemed fascinated with the sensation of going from skin to silk, tracing his fingers over the rim of the stockings repeatedly. Finally, with a growl, he rolled himself so he hovered over Peggy, his legs between hers. Propped on his elbows so he wouldn't crush her, Steve kissed her deeply, thrusting so his cock slid smoothly over her cunt, drawing a cry of pleasure from her. God, even through two layers of underwear it felt so damn good. Peggy was already so close, and they weren't even fully naked yet! She was wild with desire, and it seemed Steve was as well. Any inhibition he had was gone; he was acting solely on instinct and need now.

Peggy started tugging at the waistband of Steve's underwear; taking the hint, he quickly removed them and tossed them over the edge of the bed. Peggy took his hardness in her hand and stroked from tip to base and back again, squeezing slightly.

"Peggy!" Steve groaned her name loudly. His hand fumbled at her underwear; Peggy heard the fabric rip and then the material was gone, replaced by his fingers. She gasped as his fingers touched her wetness, rubbing against her, exploring, learning what made her shake with want. She cried out as he pushed a finger inside of her, slowly, gently. He stopped and looked at her, worried that he had hurt her. Peggy shook her head, and Steve looked relieved as he continued to touch her, adding a second finger inside of her. His thumb rubbed against her clit, causing her to gasp and lift her hips against his hand. 

Steve was a fast learner. Still moving his fingers in and out of her, he concentrated his thumb on her clit, listening to her gasps and moans, adjusting his movements until he could feel her muscles start to clench around his fingers. Her cries became more frantic, until finally, with cry and a hard shudder, she grabbed his hand and held it still against her, panting hard.

Steve kissed Peggy, and she released his hand as he slowly pulled his fingers out of her. Peggy felt sated and languid, but as Steve's hardness rubbed against her hip, another wave of desire swept over her. She wanted to feel him inside of her, not just his fingers. She reached down and gently took him in hand, guiding him into her. Steve groaned as he slowly entered her, never taking his eyes from hers.

Once he was fully inside of her, Steve stayed quite still for a moment. He leaned down and kissed Peggy again, and slowly started moving in and out of her. Peggy placed her hands on his hips and gently guided his movements until he had the rhythm down. Steve looked at Peggy with almost incredulous wonder as he rocked back and forth into her. Peggy could feel her excitement building again; she reached between them and started rubbing her clit, moaning as Steve fucked her. She quickly found herself at the edge once more. Steve move faster, kissing her face, her neck, her shoulders, and as he gently bit her neck, Peggy called out his name as she climaxed again, tightening around him.

Steve was thrusting faster and harder now, panting harshly, fingers gripping her hips. "Peggy. Oh, oh god, Peggy. Oh god. Peggy, I - I'm gonna come. Peggy. Peggy. Peggy!" With a final gasp of her name, Steve slammed into her one last time, trembling all over as he came hard.

Peggy held onto him, stroking his hair as he regained his senses. He turned his head and kissed her gently.

"I love you." he said.

Peggy smiled at him. "I love you, too."


End file.
